''Le Fils naturel, ou Les épreuves de la vertu'' () is a 1757 play by

Denis Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a prominent figure during th ...

. Diderot followed the play with a treatise on theatre entitled ''Entretiens sur le fils naturel''; this, and Diderot's other publications on theatre, was largely responsible for the play attaining canonical status.

Background

Diderot modeled ''Le Fils naturel'' on Carlo Goldoni's '' Il vero amico'', a comedy about two friends who are in love with the same woman, as well as

Pierre Corneille Pierre Corneille (; ; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great 17th-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patronage ...

's '' Don Sanche d'Aragon'', which shares with ''Le Fils naturel'' a sudden twist in the denouement and a similarly named main character. In the third ''Entretien'', Diderot proposed an alternate tragic ending to ''Le Fils naturel'', ending in the protagonist's suicide. It is believed that this was Diderot's original intent for the play, and that because French audiences at the time were resistant to tragic endings, he changed the play's ending to a happier one, concluding with two marriages. ''Le Fils naturel'' was completed in 1757. It is believed that its first staging was in

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. ...

, at a residence of the Duc d'Ayen, perhaps for a limited, private audience. Later, the play was produced in

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

in 1759, then

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

in 1760, then the Paris Comédie-Française on September 26, 1771. This performance was not a success, and even its actors participated reluctantly. ''Le Fils naturel'' would not be revived until the 1980s. The play was translated into Russian in 1788, titled ''Pobochnyi syn''.

Plot

''Le Fils naturel'' tells the story of Dorval, a young man of unknown parentage, who is welcomed into the family of Clairville and his widow sister Constance. Rosalie, Clairville's fiancé, also lives there. Dorval and Rosalie fall in love, and Dorval struggles with his love for Rosalie and his respect for Clairville. When Rosalie's father arrives to bless Clairville and Rosalie's marriage, he acknowledges that Dorval is his illegitimate son. Rosalie and Dorval then realize that the love that they share is familial rather than romantic. Rosalie marries Clairville, and Dorval marries Constance.

References

External links

''Le Fils naturel''
in French at Gallica 1757 plays Plays by Denis Diderot {{18thC-play-stub